Human
by Avasinclair123
Summary: Haku gave up his eternal life to be with Chihiro in the human world. Chihiro's now 13 and boys are starting to notice her, and girls are noticing Haku. Will they still be number one in each other's lives? Or will normal human problems drive them apart?
1. He could live with it

The years that Haku spent waiting for Chihiro's thirteenth birthday were unbearable. Even though Zeniba kept him relatively busy, at night all he would do is dream about her. He dreamed about the first time he saw her, when he saved her life, when she saved his. He couldn't get her out of his head. He spent the first year practically curled up in a ball every night. The only thing that saved him from going insane was the fact that he knew he would see her again. The second year became a little easier, he had a routine down. Every morning he would wake up early, eat, do chores, run errands for Zeniba, then be tortured every night by dreams of her. He missed her.

* * *

><p>Centuries before he met her, he was relatively happy. He had his river and humans and spirits lived in harmony. He actually had humans who worshiped him like a god. He could go out into the human world and fly around freely there. Then the humans stopped believing in the spirits. They started doing what they wanted to do, Haku found that if he was caught in the human world he would be hunted. Humans started becoming afraid of the spirits. They thought them to be oppressive beings that wanted to control the human race. They made it almost impossible for spirits to pass safely between both worlds. A spirit would never want to kill a human, but humans didn't have the same mind sets. They would try, then they would fail, because the spirit would fight back. Then the others would have more fear, and someone else would challenge and they cycle would repeat again. Eventually the spirits just stayed in the spirit world and only nature spirits visited their forests, or oceans, rivers, etc.<p>

When humans started polluting the earth it became almost unbearable. Luckily Haku never had that problem. His river was on a property that was constantly maintained that's why when the shoe fell in, he noticed it. He didn't know how to react. He got angry at first, then saddened. He thought he would never have to go through this. Then the girl fell in. He was shocked, she was reaching for the shoe. He waited to see if she would get it and felt her struggle. He could see that she couldn't breathe and that she was panicking. He knew he should leave her, if her family found her in time she would survive. Spirits and humans didn't mix anymore. He could sense her fear, then he felt it, her spirit seemed to connect with hers. Of course he should save her! He allowed himself to move under her to carry her on his back she gripped onto his horns with her trembling hands and he carried her to shore, he heard her parents calling her name, _Chihiro_. As soon as he was sure that she would be fine, he returned to the spirit world and tried to get on with his life. He couldn't. She was in the back of his mind at all time, like a nagging thought.

Eventually he forgot about her, something caused him to forget everything. He didn't know why he was so bitter, but something in him was missing. Like a piece of his very soul. He wandered around aimlessly for a long time until he found the bathhouse. He was a customer there for a while, but never had a place to return to. He had met with the witch that owns it and asked for a job. She told him that he would be working alongside the boiler man. He agreed and worked with Kamajii. One day he almost killed himself putting coals in the fire, so he cast a spell on the soot around the boiler room to bring it to life. Yubaba found out and was impressed, so she asked him to be her apprentice so she could use him to do all her dirty work Kamajii warned Haku against it, but he didn't listen. During a mission with Yubaba, they got attacked and he fell off of her bird form. Later that night a massive dragon appeared in the sky. Yubaba was shocked when the dragon flew into Haku's room, and was more shocked when that dragon turned into Haku. Her excitement grew when she discovered what Haku really was. She wondered idly why he forgot that part of her, then realized it was when she stole his name. She lied to him and told him he was a dragon instead of a River Spirit. She showed him how to harness his dragon form and how to expand his magic. Then, when she realized that Haku was stronger than her, she put a slug in him to control him. Haku's eyes turned steely and he grew cold. The memory of the little girl in the river was just left to dreams.

* * *

><p>One day he was just getting back from a mission, just before dark, when he sensed humans. He saw a young girl standing on the bridge, and for a minute he was speechless. It was her, the human girl he had met once before! She turned and saw him and his brain was buzzing, he asked what she was doing there. She looked confused, then he noticed that the lanterns were being lit, he told her that he would distract the workers of the house, and she ran off. He was working to mask her and her parents. When he felt her still there, and he noticed that the ferry was coming, he knew it was impossible for her to get back. He walked to the concession stands and saw that her parents were turned into pigs, he sighed and new that even if she could go home, she wouldn't want to without her parents. Knowing she would disappear if she didn't eat food from the world, he went and got her a berry. He found her scared and crouched down by the water's edge, already going invisible. He leaned down and told her to eat it, she refused but he forced it into her mouth and as soon as she swallowed it, he saw that she was returning to normal. He tried to get her over the bridge without them knowing, but the stupid frog scared her and she gasped, she was upset that she took a breath, but he assured her that it was fine. When he had to go, he remembered her name, <em>Chihiro.<em>

He told her that he was her friend, and she asked how she knew his name. He relieved to her that he knew her since she was very little. He showed her how to get to Kamajii and to ask for a job. Kamajii was one of the few good spirits left in the bathhouse that would help her, even if he made it difficult at first. He was relieved to hear that she had gotten a job with Yubaba, but upset that she stole the girl's name. He didn't know how he remembered it, since Yubaba's curse took away all memories of ones name from everyone that had ever come in contact with the person. So that no one would suspect anything, Haku was cold to Chihiro, he felt bad, but it had to be done. He wondered why he cared so much about hurting her feelings? She was just a human, sure he had met her a long time ago. He shrugged to himself and got her working with Lin. Later that day he took her to her parents. She ran off and he followed her, he gave her back her clothes and instructed her to hide them, telling her that she'll need them to get home. She found a card in the pockets and found her name. Haku told her how Yubaba controls people, and to keep it safe. He revealed that he can't remember his name, but for some reason he remembered hers, then he gave her food that would help her get her strength. She ate and sobbed and he felt bad for her. He didn't know why, but he felt the urge to put his arm around her. He held her as she cried until she felt a little better then he walked her back to the bathhouse. He left her and flew off in his dragon form. He went on a mission from Yubaba to steal a solid gold monogrammed seal from Zeniba, Yuababa's twin sister. Zeniba attacked him with paper birds. He felt weak and injured and flew up into Yuababa's office. He had hoped that Yubaba could help him, only to have the witch try to get rid of him, stating that he was dying anyways. He heard Chihiro's voice begging him to wake up. He also heard Zeniba, she had tagged along by clinging to Chihiro's shirt. She turned Boh, Yubaba's baby, into a mouse and Yubaba's bird into a smaller bird. Chihiro tried to defend Haku when Zeniba told Chihiro that Haku was a greedy thief that just wanted to steal Yubaba and Zeniba's magic.

When the three green headed men, disguised as Boh, distracted Zeniba, Haku broke the spell on the paper bird that let her become almost visible. The energy he used to whip his tail to break the bird, cause him to fall into a long chute. He was barely able to fly, but he knew he had to, to save Chihiro. They landed in the boiler room. Chihiro gave him a medicine from a River Spirit that she helped. Somehow he felt the slug that Yubaba placed in him leave, as well as the curse on the seal. He woke up in Kamajii's boiler room and heard that Chihiro had taken off to take the seal back to Zeniba. He went to Yubaba, who was sarcastic about him still being alive and revealed to her that the baby was not Boh. She was furious and he got Yubaba to release Chihiro if he brought Boh home safe, and if Chihiro passed a test. He went to meet Chihiro at Swamp Bottom, Zeniba's place, and found Boh and the Bird in their mouse and little bird shapes. He was glad to see that she was alright, and was surprised when Chihiro hugged his face. When they flew off, Chihiro remembered something. A story about when she was a little girl and fell into a river. She told him the name of the river, The Kohaku River. He felt his dragon form disappear momentarily, when he finally remembered his name, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. He suddenly remembered everything. Her falling in, her little pink shoe! She was the one that he couldn't stop thinking about since he met her. She was the one that his spirit seemed to recognized. When they flew back to the bathhouse, Chihiro passed the test and he told her how to get home. As soon as she passed through the tunnel, he quit working for Yubaba, and went to Zeniba. Zeniba contacted three powerful beings known as the Death and the Twins of Life. They could grant the human a chance to be a spirit, but it was difficult. They could also turn a spirit into a human, which was easier. They gave him the opportunity to become human, to live in the human world with Chihiro, but he had to wait three years.

* * *

><p>Every day after that adventure was like darkness. Sure his life was better, but without her, it might as well have been the same to him. He couldn't stop thinking about her and he still didn't have his river, it was covered up and had apartments built on it now. He knew that the three year limit was to give her time to move on. So she could live a normal life without interference, but he hated it. He hated that she could forget him. She was beautiful, even as a child, he knew as soon as boys noticed her they would be flocked around her like moths to a flame. The very thought of her with someone else hurt him. So instead he imagined her seeing him, and running to him. She would be thirteen, so nothing would happen of course. He would enroll in her school and be her best friend. They would spend all day together and hang out over the weekends. As the years continued, he would become her boyfriend. They would go to the movies, or he would take her to dinner. He knew what he was giving up though, he would never again become a dragon. He would never again see Lin, Zeniba, Kamajii or No-Face, but he could live with it, as long as he was with her. He could live with it.<p> 


	2. Is that all?

When the day finally came, Haku was nervous with anticipation. He already had the look of a thirteen year old boy, and he had spent the day before in his dragon form for what would hopefully be the last time. He had already said his good-byes to everyone. He know waited for it to happen. Around noon, Haku was dining with Zeniba and No-Face and being impatient. Just as he was about to take his last scoop of food, he started becoming invisible. He panicked at first, but let himself go with it. He felt blackness swallow him.

When he woke up he was in a theme park. It was sunny but a cool breeze ruffled his hair, he knew he couldn't be in Chihiro's home town, for it was summer and the heat should be stifling. He looked around and saw that the letters were all in English. Luckily he understood many languages. He sat up and looked around, no one noticed the boy that was lying on the floor, the park hadn't even been open for ten minutes so there were hardly any people on this end of the park. He started wandering around, trying to look like he knew where he was going. Eventually he noticed that there was a lot of people for it being so early. The park was filling up fast and Haku got a sinking feeling that he might never find her. He searched within himself for his dragon form, so he could get above the crowds and try to spot her. He found his form, but when he tried to change, nothing. He panicked then remembered, he had given up all his magic to be here with her. He was human now. Deciding quickly he went on a ride that would get him an almost aerial view of where he was at. The ride was shaped like an elephant and the controls simply moved it up and down. He looked around and then spotted her. He didn't know how he knew it was her, he just did. When this ride finished he went to where he last spotted her. She was only a few feet away from there and was walking with her family.

"Chihiro!" he called out and saw her turn.

She gave him a blank stare, as if she didn't recognize him. _Of course_. He thought to himself angrily. They would take away her memories of him, it was a test to see if their feelings for each other were pure enough to endure anything.

She frowned, "How do you know my name?" she asked him.

Her beautiful voice full of confusion.

"I've known you since you were very little" he answered automatically.

She frowned, "Where have I heard that before?" She asked and looked at him as if she was examining him, "You look...like someone I used to dream about." She admitted then blushed at her words. "I mean...uh..."

Haku couldn't help but laugh, "Well if you dream about someone who looks like me, you must have seen me before." he said logically.

She nodded and her frown deepened. Her father called out to her and walked over to join them.

"Who's your friend?" Her mom asked.

"Uh."

"Haku" He said and extended his hand out.

"Haku? Chihiro you used to tell stories about a dragon named Haku, do you remember?" her mom asked her.

"Yah, that was the same story about you turning into pigs." she mumbled, "I used to think it was real. But I can't know you, unless you came all the way to California at the same time I did, which is too much of a coincidence. Unless you're stalking me," the last part was obviously a joke since she was smiling.

Haku couldn't help but to grin back. She was funnier than he remembered. In fact a lot of things had changed about her. For one, she no longer looked like a gangly ten year old. She looked like a beautiful teenager. Her hair was up in her usual hairstyle, but it looked longer. He noticed that she had on the purple hair tie that was made for her by Boh, Yubaba's bird, No-Face, and Zeniba.

"Nice hair tie" he commented.

Her hand went up to it automatically, "My friends gave it to me. Before I left..." her voice trailed off.

He knew that would work. The hair tie came from the spirit world. He watched her frown and try to figure it out. She put her hand to her temples and seemed to sway a little. Luckily her parents didn't notice and said they were going to go in line for the ride that was in a mountain. Chihiro nodded and closed her eyes. As soon as they were out of sight, her eyes rolled back and her lids closed and she started falling. Haku caught her quickly and lifted her up. He walked over to a bench and sat down with her head in his lap. The workers of the park rushed over to make sure that she was ok. Haku said that she needed some water, and one came back with a bottle, free of charge. Haku put the cold bottle on her head and she groaned a bit. He looked around and waited for her to come to. He wondered how long it would take for her parents to get back, hopefully a long time, or they would see her like this. After what seemed an eternity she opened her eyes.

"Haku?" came her small voice.

He turned and looked down at her smiling.

"Am I dreaming? What are you doing here?"

"What do you remember?" he had to ask.

"I remember the Spirit World, and my parents turning into pigs and Yubaba. I remember asking Kamajii for a job. I remember Lin, and Boh. I remember going to Zeniba's."

"Anything else?" his voice sounded desperate, she couldn't have forgotten him.

"OH! And No-Face and Yubaba's bird. Oh and the Soot Balls. They were cute." she said with a smile.

Haku felt...crushed. This wasn't anything like he dreamed it would be. Yes he was here, with her, but she didn't even remember him.

"I also remember a dragon." she said after a minute.

He glanced at her quickly and saw that she had her eyes closed and was smiling, "He was beautiful. He had white scales that shone in the moonlight. And white fur on his face. There was also green fur that ran along his back. He had horns too. And his eyes were a brilliant shade of green. Do you know what his name was?" she asked and opened her eyes.

"What?" he hardly dared to answer.

"Haku." she said and sat up.

"Really? Was this dragon always a dragon?" he had to ask.

"No, he had a shape of a boy. He wore odd clothes and sandals. He had green hair and his eyes were also a brilliant shade of green. But he was pale and his eyes were steely. The witch Yubaba had stolen his real name, and she put a slug in him to control him. He also got a curse on him, which nearly killed him."

"What happened?" he was mesmerized hearing her tell his story in vivid detail.

"I saved the day of course. I gave him medicine from the River Spirit and he spit up the slug and the thing that cursed him. I took the cursed object back to it's owner, and she said only love could break that spell." she blushed, "Then I remembered helped him remember his real name, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi."

"So did you love the dragon?" he had to ask.

"As a friend, yes. I was only ten after all." she smiled, "I dream about him every night." she admitted.

"He dreams about you too." he whispered, "Every night."

She smiled up at him, "But what is he doing here?"

He sighed, "He felt sadness the moment she passed through the tunnel. He knew he had to be with her, so he asked these beings to make him a human. They agreed, but after three years, to give her a chance to forget him. It seemed like she did forget him, for a while."

"I couldn't remember anything, until you mentioned my hair tie."

"Its magic made you remember."

"How long are you staying?" she asked him.

"As long as you want me here."

"So...forever?" she grinned.

"Forever is a long time, you might tire of me."

"Nah." she said and hugged him tightly.

He closed his eyes when he felt her body against him. He still couldn't believe that he was there, in her world, with her in his arms.

"I can't believe you're here." Chihiro was saying in her soft voice.

He looked down at her and smiled, "Of course, you being a spirit wasn't really an option, so I became a human."

"But, you gave up everything. Why?"

"It's hard to explain right now Chihiro." he said.

He knew she wouldn't understand. She was still too young. She probably couldn't understand how he fell in love with her in their brief time together. How his soul yearned to be with hers. How just sitting here next to her was making him forget that ache he felt since she left. The years of agony finally made sense. He would go through them again if it meant having this moment with her.

"Try." she was saying.

"I don't want to...scare you off...make you think I'm moving too fast." he started, "Before I met you, the first time, my life was good. I was relatively happy. Then, it was like my soul connected with yours, then I left you with your parents and suddenly something was missing, then my river got filled up and even more of me was missing. When you came to the spirit world, it felt like the first part of me was back, like I was almost whole, except for that little piece."

"Your name?"

"And my river." he nodded, "After you got me my name back, and I knew what happened to my river, for those few hours, I was whole. I had my name, I knew the location of my river, I had..."

"Had what?" Chihiro noticed that his voice had trailed off.

"You."

"Me?" her eyes went wide.

"I've been around for a long time, as long as my river has. I'm more mature than humans in some ways, and less so in others. Like this, for example. I have no idea how to explain this too you." he sighed.

"Keep going." she told him.

"After you left, it was like a part of me was missing again, only this time it was a bigger part. It felt like...like my soul had left. Like all that was left of me was a shell."

"I still don't understand." she told him.

"Chihiro, I know you're still only a child in human years so I-"

"I'm not a child, I'm a teenager."

"Barely. I don't want to move too fast for you."

"Just say it Haku."

"I love you Chihiro."

"Oh. That's all?

"That's all?" he frowned.

She laughed at his reaction, "Haku, I've been thinking about you every day since I left. I draw pictures of your dragon. I get into fights at school because people tell me that you aren't real and that I was only dreaming. I get picked on all the time because all I do is doodle and get yelled at in class. I love you too silly." she said and laughed again.

Her love was different, he knew it. It was the childhood love that came with a best friend. He smiled, knowing that more often than not, that love grew into something else, unless someone else came into her life. It saddened him to think about.

"What's wrong?" she asked looking up at him.

"Just thinking."

"About everything you had to give up? So you'll never be a dragon again? And you'll never see everyone again?"

"No, but for some reason that doesn't bother me as much as it should. I'll get through it." he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.


	3. Soarin'

By the time Chihiro's parents got back, Chihiro was feeling much better and was chatting with Haku casually.

"Mom! Dad! I remember him now." Chihiro had been working on a story to tell her parents.

"I met him in primary school in our old town. He used to pull my hair and get me so mad! But one day a bully was trying to pick on me and he saved me." she said with a smile.

"Oh yah, I remember that story" her father said nodding.

Chihiro and Haku exchanged glances, the story, obviously, was a lie. She thought they would put up more of an argument against it, or she would at least get a, "You never mentioned anything like that" But it did not come. Haku mouthed, "I'll explain" to her and she nodded, then she asked if he could hang out with them.

When asked where his parents were, Haku lied smoothly, they were in the hotel, they had eaten some bad shrimp and got a nasty case of food poisoning the night before, so they sent Haku into the parks alone, since there was an entrance to the second park right in the hotel's lobby. Her parents nodded and allowed him to join them.

They ran around the rest of the day like free spirits. Haku commented later that he never had that much fun in his entire life.

"Not even as a dragon?" she had to ask.

"Maybe twice." he admitted, "Both times with you."

She felt herself blush and laughed. They stood in a ridiculously long line for a ride in the newer park. One that dropped the riders thirteen feet as they sat in an elevator with nothing but a lap belt to hold them in. When they fell, Haku got a memory of the last time she was there.

"Remember falling?" he had to ask her after they were done with the ride.

"At the bathhouse? When you were hurt." she frowned, she didn't like thinking of that.

"That's what it reminded me of. Every cell in me wanted to find my dragon form and change to get us out of there."

"It's a perfectly safe ride." she told him, a little upset that he might have not enjoyed it.

"It was fun" he nodded. "My instincts are just trained to do that."

"Silly." she laughed and punched him in the shoulder.

They spent the next few minutes running around, she screamed and laughed while he tried to catch her. When he finally did he tickled her into submission. People at the park were smiling at them, her parents took pictures.

There was a moment, when she fell to the floor in giggles and he followed her, she tried to push him away but he lost his balance and fell back, pulling her on him. He heard the laughter die on her lips when she saw that they were only inches apart. She let out a nervous giggle but didn't move. Haku didn't move either, though he wanted to stroke her cheek, or her hair. He heard the clicking of the camera, then, her parents realized that the look they shared wasn't just two children playing around, it was serious. Her father cleared his throat and Chihiro squeaked fell off of Haku. Haku couldn't help but laugh as he stood up and helped the girl up.

"Are you going to explain now?" she asked as they trailed behind her parents to find something else to go on.

"Huh? Oh, right. The beings that helped me be here, they need to plant memories in your parent's heads so that they think I've existed in this world the entire time. We're the only ones who know the truth." he said.

Haku smiled at Chihiro's expression, more like disbelief.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked her.

"I just keep feeling like this is all a dream. Like I'm going to wake up at any second and find myself at home go to the airport and come here." she admitted.

"I know, it feels like a dream to me too." he smiled at her.

Haku marveled at how easy it was, to be here with her after all this time. As they walked, his hand would brush hers every so often. Finally he took her smooth hand in his, and laced their fingers together. He looked at Chihiro, who was looking from their hands to his face with a shocked expression, but she didn't pull her hand out of his.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed her mother look back at them. He could see a faint smile playing on her lips, but a look of concern and sadness filled her eyes. He understood, she was happy to see her so happy, especially if she got into as many fights as Chihiro herself said she did. He assumed that she didn't have many close friends. She was also sad, seeing her little girl growing up.

When the day came to an end and they walked to the hotel entrance to get their passes to stay longer in the park, it was a night where it remained open longer for the resort guests, Haku began to panic. He didn't have a ticket that would get him into the park, he would get into trouble.

"Chihiro here's your ticket, honey here's yours, and here's yours Haku." said Chihiro's mother as she passed out the tickets that doubled as room keys.

Haku and Chihiro exchanged glances again. The lie was that Haku's parents were in the hotel. How could they have possibly gotten a ticket for him. Realization hit Haku quickly and he couldn't help but smile.

"They changed the story." Haku muttered to Chihiro, "Instead of us meeting, They made me come with you here. They set everything up so it looks like I've been here the whole time."

He saw Chihiro smile and nod, "Clever" she whispered back to him.

Haku could only nod since he needed to give the ticket to the ticket taker, the man scanned it and gave him a wristband. As soon as it was done, they all went back into the park and finally Chihiro's mom let them split up. 

"We'll meet back in our rooms." she was saying.

Haku let Chihiro pull him to whichever ride she wanted. He smiled at her enthusiasm.

"You're excited."

"It's my birthday and I get to spend it with my best friend." she told him happily.

"I forgot it was your birthday. I didn't get you a gift."

"You are my gift. You're here." she said smiling.

"I just thought of another one for you, if you want it."

"What is it?"

He pulled her into his arms and took her chin in his hand. He tilted her chin up gently and, moving slowly to give her time to pull away, he lowered his lips to her. He could feel her stop breathing, he was terrified of moving too fast. He stopped, just inches from her lips, and waited, just waited.

"It's up to you." he whispered.

"Ok." she said.

She didn't move, so Haku allowed his lips to touch hers gently. The kiss was sweet. Haku pulled back after a second and saw Chihiro was blushing.

"Thank you Haku." she whispered.

"It was just a kiss." he said.

"It was my first. I'm glad it was with you."

It was his turn to blush. He cleared his throat, "Lets go on another ride" he told her.

Laughing she led him to a ride that looked like swings. They chose the yellow chairs, which allowed two people to share the seat and ride together. When the ride took off she closed her eyes and smiled when the wind pushed her hair back.

"I imagine that I'm flying. Usually, on rides like that, I extend my hands out and act like I'm soaring through the sky." she confessed.

"Want to ride it again? On separate seats?"

"No, I'm going to take you to the best ride here, I made my mom and dad ride it ten times yesterday."

She led him across the park and to an indoor ride.

"It lets you feel like you're flying too." she told him.

"How?" he asked, noting that they were still in a building.

"You'll see."

The line led to a hanger, there were two sets of chairs that were set into three rows. In front of the chairs was an enormous screen. They got to get into seats in the front, which made Chihiro very excited. They sat down and buckled in. Haku still didn't understand how this would make them feel like they were flying.

The lights dimmed and the hanger soared upwards towards the screen. The screen came on, showing a cloud cover then opening to a red bridge. The screen cut to a scene of people on kayaks in a river, then hot air balloons. The serene ocean was next, along with a cool breeze. Snow covered mountains and the smell of pine followed, along with a colder breeze. They were flying next to a majestic waterfall and a hang glider. The next scene was a valley and a golf course. A golf ball flew at the screen. The scene cut to orange groves and the smell of the fruit filled Haku's nose. The next scene was a rugged mountain terrain with planes flying. A Navy ship could be seen next, followed by another cool ocean view, this time at sunset. A dark city with a busy expressway the the next shot, followed by the theme park where they were at. A fairy came on the scene and led a spectacular fireworks display which ended the ride.

When the ride ended, Haku was breathless. He wanted to fly again. He realized that he missed it. He wanted to see the sites for himself, as a dragon with Chihiro on his back.

"I miss that." he said suddenly.

"What?"

"I miss flying." he admitted.

He heard Chihiro gulp and smiled at her as they walked out into the night.

"Not as much as I missed you though." he told her.


	4. Confusion

The two weeks in California were wonderful. Not only did they visit the themed resort where Haku first met up with Chihiro again, (which he found out that the parks were called Disneyland and California Adventures) they also visited other theme parks in the area (Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Hollywood, and Sea World). Chihiro's father even got a limo to take them from Los Angeles to San Francisco and they went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and every beach in between, as well as two more theme parks (Great America and Six Flags Adventure Park Haku enjoyed himself, and best of all, Chihiro enjoyed herself.

When it came time to return to Chihiro's home, both kids were sad to leave the beautiful state.

"I wanna come back to live here one day." Chihiro said as the land plane took off.

"We'll come back." Haku assured her.

He noticed her parents exchanging concerned looks in the seats in front of them. Haku frowned and wondered if Chihiro noticed her parents' reaction. She was frowning when he stole a glance at her. Obviously she had.

"When we get older and get married we'll come back." she said loud enough for them to hear, Haku had to fight back a sigh and an eye roll.

Chihiro's father cleared his throat, "So when does school start?" he asked to change the subject.

"In two weeks" she told him then glanced at Haku, "Will you be enrolled?"

"Of course he will. We'll deal with that when we get back. Haku, your parents got a hold of us at the hotel, you are going to be staying with us for the duration of your schooling. Apparently this project that they are working on is going to take a few years so it'll be better for you to just stay with us, since you are already Chihiro's friend." Her mother said with a smile.

"Uh, alright, I mean, Yes Ma'am." Haku nodded.

Hake noticed Chihiro smiling widely. As night set in, Haku felt Chihiro lean on his shoulder and when she was about to fall asleep, he pushed the armrest between them up and put his arm around her. She snuggled into his chest and fell asleep. He yawned and felt himself resting his head on hers and drifted off to sleep also.

"_Things are moving fast between them." _

"_They've been friends for years dear, stop worrying."_

_Haku thought the voices were just a dream. The words went from making sense to being completely garbled. _

"_Them being friends for years doesn't matter to me, she's too young to be talking about getting married." the male said. _

"_She was joking." the female voice answered. _

"_She's joking now. Haven't you seen the looks between them? There is something more going on." _

"_You know when he moved away she got upset. Then she started inventing those stories when she was ten. I was surprised that she remembered him. He left when she was in Kindergarten." _

_Haku frowned in his sleep. So the story had changed again. He sighed were they ever going to settle for one story. _

"_Don't tell me you aren't concerned."_

"_Of course I am! But if this makes her happy so be it. Remember how happy she was when we told her that we were taking her to California? Remember how ecstatic she was when we told her he was coming with us? I think she would have been happy just staying at home as long as he could be there." the female voice sighed, "She's not ready to date yet, I'll talk to her when we get home." _

Darkness swallowed Haku and the voices morphed into another dream that he couldn't remember.

Hours later Haku was woken up by Chihiro poking him. He looked at her and frowned.

"We're about to land," she told him, "You are very comfortable." she added.

He smiled and yawned. It was only when the plane touched down and they were in the car heading to the house that Haku remembered the conversation he heard when he was falling to sleep. In whispers he told Chihiro about the story changing yet again. She sighed and nodded.

"They need to make up their minds," she mumbled.

The weeks passed as soon it was time for them to start school. Haku was disappointed that he was in different classes than Chihiro. This was because he had to take an exam to see where to place him, and he placed in the advanced classes.

"No fair" Chihiro groaned when they got their schedules, "I'll only see you in gym and lunch. Why do you have to be so smart."

"I learned a lot," he said with a shrug.

He saw her roll her eyes and laughed.

The weekend before school started, Chihiro's mother took them school shopping. They were both sitting in the back seat and Haku was looking out the window when a song came on the radio.

"Mom turn it up! I heard that song in California, it's so beautiful!" she said excitedly then started singing along with it.

"One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you

Darling don't be afraid

I have loved you for a Thousand Years.

I'll love you for a thousand more.

All along I believed I would find you

Time has brought your heart to me

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more."

Haku saw that Chihiro had her eyes closed and was smiling as she sang. She reached across the seats and touched her fingers with his, he took her hand and went back to looking out the window.

* * *

><p>Chihiro's Mom POV:<p>

I looked through the rear view window and saw him holding her hand. It made me sad, my little girl growing up, but at the same time I was happy that she was with him. I could tell that he loved her since they were kids. His mother was my best friend, so the kids grew up together. When she fell in the river, the scariest moment of my life, he didn't hesitate. If he hadn't thrown that long branch at her and pulled her in I know we would have lost her.

"Mom you missed the entrance." Chihiro's voice broke through my thoughts, silently cursing myself I made a U-turn and turned into the parking lot.

It was very hard for her to find a friend after they moved away. The thought of not going to school with Haku devastated, eventually she started to forget about him. She would talk about her new friends and how she adored her teachers. It made me smile to see her so happy. Then one day, when my husband's job had us moving to a new town, she suddenly started making up stories. Actually it was one story, it was always the same. My husband and I turning into pigs and Haku showing her how to save us. He was the star of the stories, she could explain in vivid detail the way he turned into a dragon, and about the witch that owned the bathhouse where she worked, and all sorts of other characters. We thought about therapy, but she wouldn't have it.

We thought the stories were just made up because we were moving again, even further from him. We dismissed them, thinking she would stop talking about them. She did, but she started drawing dragons, and the characters from the stories. She wrote them down too. Then I got in contact with Haku's mother, to see if him seeing her again would help. She told us how her husband was working on a project for whatever they did, I didn't really understand it, and how Haku needed a place to stay. I found myself inviting him to stay with us. We set it up for him to meet us at the hotel in California. Her excitement was...indescribable. She tackled screamed and fainted. She had never fainted a day in her life! When she came too, she was happier than anything.

"Mom? MOM!" I realized Chihiro was talking to me.

"Yes?" I asked her.

"I was asking if Haku and I can walk around for a bit. Then we can meet up and you can help me pick out clothes for school."

"Oh sure." I gave them some money and sent them off.

* * *

><p>Chihiro's POV<p>

"My mom was acting funny today." I was saying as I walked with Haku through the mall.

I smiled when he took my hand, he was always touching my hands since he came back. Almost like he wanted to make sure I didn't disappear. I could see people smiling at us and I blushed. Haku must have noticed because he dropped my hand. I couldn't ignore the disappointment when he did. He hadn't kissed me again since my birthday. Honestly I wanted him to, more than anything. I sighed and kept walking next to him. I pointed to the art supply store.

After a few minutes we walked out with my supplies, and a few for him too. I smiled and let him pick the next store. As we walked he once again picked up my hand and caused me to smile. He pulled me up the stairs to the almost deserted second floor of the store and was looking at me with such intensity.

_Oh he's going to kiss me again!_

My heart fluttered like a birds as he leaned towards me. Suddenly I was scared, what if we got caught? I pulled back away from him and saw his brows come together forming a crease. I couldn't control myself, I had to touch his cheek. His face relaxed as soon as I did and he leaned his face into my hand. He turned and kissed my palm, the spot burned from his breath.

"Haku..." I whispered.

"There you are!" We jumped apart when my mom's voice pierced through our moment, "It's getting late and you both need your uniforms." she was saying.

"Uniforms? I though they did away with those!"

"Not this year, I just got a call from your father they sent a letter saying you needed uniforms still."

I knew I was making an unattractive face, which is why my heart sped up with Haku still looked at me like I was the only person in the mall.

"Uniforms are not cute." I muttered but followed my mom out of the mall so we could go to the uniform store.

Once at the large store stocked with similar looking skirts, shirts and jackets, I sighed impatiently as my mom tried to find my size. It reminded me of Lin trying to figure out my uniform in the bathhouse.

"You're so puny" she had said.

In truth I hadn't grown much, size wise, but I was taller so my shirts showed my stomach if I lifted my arms, they felt tight around my chest, and my skirts were hemmed too short. Mom came back with an the next size up and sent me to the fitting room.

"MOM!" I shouted and walked out.

The shirt fit too big, and the skirt was too long now. I felt like crying.

"Are you sure this is the next size up?" I heard my mom ask the sale's lady, who only nodded.

"I look like I'm floating." I knew I sounded whinny, but I didn't want Haku to see me like this on a daily basis.

Speaking of Haku, he was trying on his clothes in the men's fitting room. He came out and I felt my breath catch. He looked so handsome. His shirt was just tight enough to show off his toned chest and arms, but not too tight so he wasn't constricted. Changing his clothes caused his hair to become disheveled, although I noticed that it was kind of long to blend in right. As if he felt my stares, he turned to look at me. Oh why does he have to look at me like that? I made face at him and ducked back into the room.

"Chihiro I can hem it," mom was saying.

"Hold on, I want to try something."

I pulled off a safety pin that I kept on my shirt to keep it pulled in at my waist. I pinned the uniform shirt back tightly, to show off my body. A blush rose to my cheeks when I thought about why I was doing this...for him. I rolled up the skirt until it was well over my knees, just to my fingertips. I pulled up the knee high socks and put on the loafers. I peeked my head out to see my mom fusing over Haku, she also seemed to commenting over his hair because I saw him run his hand through it.

"I'm ready" I told them, my mom turned and her eyes almost popped out of her head.

I wasn't paying attention to her, I was watching Haku. I suppressed a giggle when his eyes got wide and he gulped. Walking over to him, I moved my hips a lot.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

Gulping again he cleared his throat, "I think your mom is about to have heart attack." he said keeping his voice light.

I turned around and saw that he was right. Mom was turning like three different shades of red.

"Mom I'm kidding!" I said and ran back into the changing room.

I walked out in my regular clothes with the bundle in my arms. Mom took them from me and we waited for Haku to change out of his uniform. She paid for them and we walked to a restaurant near by.

"What did you really think?" I asked as soon as mom was out of earshot.

"I thought that if I said what I really thought your mom would throw me out." he said and winked.

I felt myself blush and I put my head in my arms so mom wouldn't see.

* * *

><p>Haku couldn't help but laugh as she ducked her head down. In truth he thought she looked...beautiful, and so much more mature that thirteen. A part of him didn't like it. She was too young to be acting like that.<p>

_She was joking. _His voice of reason put in.

_Doesn't matter, she's only thirteen. _He argued with himself.

He sighed and ate in silence. On the way home, Chihiro's mom turned the radio station to oldies. Haku caught sight when a particular song came on, especially when Chihiro started singing to it and stealing glances at Haku.

"Whenever you're near,

I hear a symphony.

A tender melody,

Pulling me closer, closer to your arms.

Then suddenly, your lips are touching mine

A feeling so divine

Till I leave the past behind."

Her mom made an annoyed song and turned off the radio. Haku was confused. Since telling Chihiro how he felt about her, that he loved her, and since he kissed her, Chihiro was acting more mature. Was he mistaken? Was a girl of only thirteen able to feel and understand the intense emotion that was love?


	5. So much

The first month at school was pretty uneventful. The first few days, Haku would walk Chihiro to every class, even if they were on different floors than his. His teachers would scold him, until they saw how smart he was. He could finish an assignment before the lecture was even over. This intimidated many students and teachers, so they recommended him to go take the exam to get into high school.

"No thank you." he was telling the principal after school at the end of the first week.

"But Kohaku, your teachers tell me that you are way advanced, they can't teach you, because you already know so much." she was telling him.

"I know, but I wish to remain here."

"Alright, but you will be bored."

_Only in class. _He thought to himself. He refused to be in a school without Chihiro.

"Hey! I heard that they wanted to move you." Chihiro said when he went to meet her.

She was with a group of friends, but as soon as she saw him she ran to meet him.

"They want to, but I told them I'll stick it out here." he said smiling down at her.

"But why? If you can get in, just go."

"I want to stay here Chihiro." _With you. _

"But..."

"Chihiro..." he started to sound annoyed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and looked down as they walked.

Haku felt his heart throb seeing her like that. She looked so sad.

"If you don't want me at your school then I'll go." he told her.

"What! No it's not that it's just...I don't want you to stay there if you're bored." she said.

"I'm only bored in my first class, then there's gym, my third class class I'm back to being bored, break, another class of boredom, lunch, final boring class, then we go home." he told her.

He saw her blush when she realized what he was saying. He was only bored when he didn't see her. Haku smiled and took her hand in his as they walked. She blushed again.

"Why do you do that?" she asked him suddenly.

"Do what?"

"Just take my hand randomly?"

"Because I like feeling your hand in mine." he said, the simplicity of the explanation made her blush even more.

"But why mine? You must have noticed all the pretty girls at school, they sure have noticed you." she grumbled at the end.

Haku couldn't help but laugh, "Are you jealous Chihiro?"

"No!" she pulled her hand out of his and ran ahead a few paces.

"I did notice the pretty girls, and they are very pretty." he said and chuckled to himself when he saw her stop suddenly.

He stopped behind her and put his arms around her waist, "They are very, very pretty." he repeated and felt her stiffen, "But you are beautiful." he told her and kissed her cheek, then he let her go to start walking again.

She had to run to catch up to him. She didn't say anything, she wasn't even looking in his direction. Haku took her hand yet again and they walked in silence.

Their second month of school was a little different. About two weeks into the month, Haku went to join Chihiro and her friends for lunch, like he always did. When he got to the table, he saw her sitting next to one of her male friends. When she saw him, she smiled and stood up, like always. As soon as he set the tray down, she hugged him, like always. Haku sat next to her and they started playing Truth or Dare.

"Haku, truth or dare?" one of her friends asked him.

"Truth."

"Is there anyone at this school you think is hot?" the girl asked.

"No." he answered and saw Chihiro frown, "But I think someone is beautiful."

"Who?"

He laughed at her friend's excitement. "Sorry, that wasn't the question."

He then dared a girl to stand on the table and do a ridiculous dance. That girl asked Chihiro what she wanted, and she picked dare.

"I dare you to...make out with Koichi." she said, pointing to the friend next to her.

Chihiro's eyes went wide, "What?" she turned red and tried to get out of it, the girls were brutal and she ended up complying.

Haku felt hurt when he saw their lips touch, and then his jealousy and anger spiked as they kissed, much further than he had with her. The worse part? Chihiro seemed to enjoy it. She had her arms wrapped around the male's neck and wouldn't let to. Haku frowned and stood up and left.

Chihiro's POV

I didn't understand why I was liking this so much. Maybe it was because I was picturing Haku in my mind. I felt movement beside me and opened my eyes to see him walking away. I broke apart from him and ran towards Haku.

"Haku!" I called, he turned around and I could hear myself gasp.

He looked hurt, and angry. I felt tears come into my eyes when I saw him, remembering what he had said about loving me for so long. That memory hurt even more.

"Haku, I-"

"I have to talk to one of my teachers Chihiro." he said in an expressionless voice, I winced, usually he said my name, as if he was caressing it.

He walked away and I felt the tears overflow.

_I have died every day waiting for you_

_Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more..._

"Haku..."

The song was true...I did die every day that I wasn't with him. The bell rang and I had to pull myself together to make it to my next class.

After school, Haku was waiting for me, like always. I smiled when I saw him, but his face was a blank mask. I felt a familiar pain in my stomach and I just wanted to crouch down, like when I was ten, and cry. Haku must have noticed the tears, because his eyes softened and he sighed and came over to take my books and put them in his backpack like he always did.

As we walked, he was silent.

"Haku?" he looked over at me, "I'm sorry."

As if by fate, a car drove passed us and had to stop at a stop sign. As we passed I heard the song playing.

"I have died everyday waiting for you." I couldn't help but sing along.

"All along I believed I would find you.

Time has brought your heart to me and I have loved for a thousand years." I was shocked to hear Haku's voice singing the second part of the chorus.

I looked up at him and saw that he was looking at me, the old look was back in his eyes. My heart melted, my knees felt weak. The meaning of those words hit me like a ton of bricks. Tears came to my eyes yet again that day.

"Chihiro what's wrong?" Haku asked worried.

"I feel horrible!"

"Why?"

"You've been waiting to come to me for a long time, and here I am making out with another guy!" I felt my voice crack and my shoulders started to shake.

Haku laughed and put his arms around me.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm laughing at myself. I was so jealous of him. I wanted to be him." his voice got serious.

"I wanted you to be him." I mumbled.

He was looking at me, I could feel his gaze. I looked up at him and started crying harder, "Stop that!"

"Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like that! Stop making me feel like I'm the only girl in the universe!"

"Chihiro, you are the only girl in my universe." he said then lifted my chin up.

I stopped breathing. My heart stopped pumping. Everything stopped. He looked at me, as if he didn't see the tears, my swollen eyes, or my nose, which turned red every time I cried. I felt his lips on mine. They weren't demanding, like Koichi's were. They didn't force mine to part and they didn't hurt me. Haku was sweet, gentle, loving. His kiss reflected him.

He wiped the tears from my eyes and held me close. I love him...so much.


	6. The Fall

The rest of the semester passed with a blur. Haku was glad when they got into the final semester of school, even though things got harder. Things were going smoothly since the disastrous Truth or Dare game, until the new guy and his sister arrived.

It was the beginning of the semester and Haku was running to class late. When he got there, the teacher was introducing a new student. Her name was Mai and she was thirteen. Everyone looked at Haku when he walked in.

"Glad to see you starting the semester off right Kohaku." the teacher said sarcastically.

Haku just smiled a bit and went to his seat. He didn't even notice that he had gotten Mai's attention.

* * *

><p>Mai's POV<p>

Oh my lord he was cute. He was also late, and his face was flushed. He had a fragrance on him, which told me that he was with a girl. I felt my face trying to work it's way to a frown, but didn't let it. I wanted him for myself, he was to be all mine.

"Mai, you may take your seat behind Kohaku." the teacher told me.

Gladly, I walked over to him and sat down behind him.

"Hi," I said in my flirtiest voice. "My name is Mai."

"I know" he mumbled and went back to doing his work.

This time I really frowned, how could he be so oblivious.

"I was the smartest girl at my old school. I got voted best dressed, prettiest smile, and Most Likely To Succeed."

"That's nice." he started to sound annoyed and my frown deepened.

Deciding to ignore him for a while, I decided to take notes.

* * *

><p>Chihiro's POV.<p>

The boy walked in a bit before the bell rang.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is Tai, he's going to be joining the class. Tai why don't you tell us something about yourself."

"Well, I have a twin sister, she's in the advanced class, and I like to draw." he said.

"I see, well lets have you sit behind Chihiro. Chihiro, do you think you can pull yourself away from perfecting that dragon and raise your hand."

I frowned, I knew the teacher was teasing, she always teased me because I say he's not perfect yet. I can never get Haku's human form just right. Instead of looking up, I just raise my left hand and keep drawing. I hear a sigh from the teacher and look up to give her a quick smile. I notice the new guy looking at me and I feel my cheeks flush. It's the same look Haku gives me, like there is no one else around.

We weren't officially dating, Haku thinks I'm still too young, and I'm sure my parents would agree. But he treats me as if we are. He walks me to class, holds my hand, kisses me when we're alone. He acts like my boyfriend, so, to me, labels mean nothing. I smiled at the thought and went right back to drawing.

"Whatcha drawing?" the new guy, Tai, asked when he sat behind me.

"A dragon's human form." I told him. "I can never get it right."

I sighed in frustration and crumpled up the paper. I would make Haku could still so I can get a sketch of him tonight, then I could adjust the proportions a bit. It was getting harder to draw everyone, and it scared me. I did miss them, a lot. I wondered what they were doing, so I got out my notebook and started writing again. It was the same story, but I went into more detail about Yubaba and Boh, Lin, Kamajii, the soot balls, Zeniba, and No-Face. The foreman, and especially Haku.

"Maybe I can help." Tai said.

I shook my head, "I'll get my bo- my friend to stand still so I can use his shape for the human form." I said.

"Your what? Boyfriend?" he laughed, "Aren't you a little young?"

"It's none of your business" I snapped.

"Feisty," he mumbled.

I ignored him the rest of class.

* * *

><p>Their next class was gym. Haku was glad when he saw Chihiro walking towards him in her gym clothes. She hugged him just as the teacher came out.<p>

"Chihiro, you can hug your boyfriend during your own time!" he barked.

Chihiro just shook her head, she heard this every day. To her dismay she saw Tai there, and another girl that looked eerily like him.

"Must be his sister," she mumbled.

"Mai." Haku told her as the instructor took role then sent him out to the track to run laps. After laps, they could chose to walk around the track or play the game of the day. Chihiro and Haku always chose to walk.

Haku could hear her humming to herself as they walked. He smiled when he recognized the melody.

"Still fixated on that song?" he teased.

"It's our song, let me be fixated on it." she frowned which caused him to laugh.

Hearing his laugh caused Mai's heart to speed up. She looked jealously as Haku walked with the girl. Her eyes narrowed even more when he took her hand.

"Who's that with Haku?" she asked a girl in her class.

"Chihiro, they've been inseparable since he started here." she told Mai.

"Hmmm, I'll find a way to separate them." she said out loud.

"Good luck." the girl said and ran off.

"Tai!" Mai called to her brother as he ran passed.

Tai groaned but waited for Mai to catch up.

"I need you to go separate Chihiro from Haku." she told her brother.

"Why would I do that? She and I didn't get off on the best foot last hour."

"Well go make it up to her. Drag her away if you have to." she said.

Tai rolled his eyes but went to pull Chihiro away. He just grabbed her arm and ran. Chihiro stumbled after him trying to break his grip.

"Let me go!" she shouted and allowed herself to fall back, which only caused Tai to fall on her.

"CHIHIRO! STOP FLIRTING!" came the coach's voice.

"I'M NOT FLIRTING!" Chihiro yelled at him, angry for being yelled at because of this jerk.

Haku was about to go help her up when Mai walked over to him.

"Hi." she said.

"Uh, hi. Listen I can't talk right now." he said and ran to Chihiro's side to help her up.

He brushed off her back and made sure she was alright. She was limping so Haku picked her up bridal style and carried her to the bleachers.

Mai glared and went back to running as Haku took off Chihiro's shoe and sock to examine her foot.

* * *

><p>Chihiro's POV<p>

"That jerk." I muttered as Haku rotated my foot and made sure it was ok.

I winced when he asked me to point my toe. Haku sighed and picked me up again and carried me to the coach.

"Can I take her to the nurse?" he was asking.

The coach wrote out a note for us both and Haku carried me off the field.

"You can put me down." I mumbled, embarrassed by the stares.

"You can't walk." Haku said.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, "I might be too heavy."

He set me down then turned around and crouched. I jumped a bit and he caught me under my knees to carry my on his back. Across the campus we went that way, he was holding my shoe and sock also. In the nurse's office the woman gave me some ice and Haku held the ice pack in my foot, which was swelling quickly.

"Imma kill Tai." I muttered.

"He didn't mean it, I'm sure." Haku said.

"Still. I told him to let me go."

"Do you kids mind if I put on some music?" the nurse asked us.

We shook our heads and she turned on the radio, the first song to come on had us looking at each other. I giggled and Haku chuckled and kissed my cheek. The nurse poked her head in,

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"It's our song." I told her, her eyes went wide.

"Aren't you a little young to be dating?"

"We aren't dating." I told her quickly, "I've known him since we were kids, and he moved away when I was five. We didn't meet again until this summer and our friendship had survived all the years, and it even grew." I said.

Haku kissed my cheek again and I couldn't help but blush.

* * *

><p>Haku's POV<p>

After taking Chihiro to the nurse, we got released to go to our next class. I carried her on my back to the locker room, then instructed her to wait for me there. After running to get to the boy's locker room and get dressed and my stuff, I hurried to get her. When I arrived Tai was there.

"Come on, we have next hour together, let me carry your books." he was telling her.

"No thank you." she was saying then she saw me and smiled.

I took her stuff and put them in my back then put it on her back.

"You're going to make her carry it?" he asked incredulously.

Instead of answering, I helped Chihiro climb onto my back like last time and carried her to class. People were staring, and a few upper class girls were asking their boyfriends why they couldn't be like me. I set her down at her class and got her stuff out.

"Wait for me here." I told her then hugged her tightly before going to my class.

To my dismay, Mai was there. I sighed and took my seat and resolved to ignore her the rest of class.


	7. Formal

The school year went without any incident. Summer came and went, Chihiro turned 14 and had a small party with Haku and her parents. The school year started and Haku was glad to see that Chihiro had tested into some of the advanced classes, which meant that they would spend more time together. He was also upset to see that Mai and Tai were also in their classes.

The twins were more subdued. They basically ignored Chihiro and Haku, for a while at least. When the Backwards Dance came around, where the girls ask the guys, Mai asked Haku to go with her. He declined her, but then Chihiro came down with the flu. She told him to go with Mai, since she wanted him to have fun. He went, and ended up having a lot of fun with Mai. He walked her home, then invited her and Tai to hang out with them at lunch the next day.

Haku would still hold Chihiro's hand, but after a while, it became real infrequent. He started noticing that Mai was very pretty. She held herself with confidence that Chihiro didn't seem to have. He found himself attracted to the other girl. At the same time, Chihiro found things about Tai that she liked, things that Haku didn't do. Tai had a shorter temper and Chihiro liked poking fun at him and seeing him get angry, before realizing that she was doing it on purpose. He would chase her around the table at lunch and end up tormenting her during their next class, which was art.

Winter Formal was coming up fast. Haku and Chihiro already agreed to go with each other, so when Tai asked Chihiro to formal, she felt bad.

"Tai, I'm going with Haku." she told him apologetically.

"Oh, ok..." he said kind of sadly.

At school Chihiro noticed that Mai was upset.

"Hey Mai!" Chihiro called to her in between classes, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just kind of upset that I'm not going to Formal." she admitted.

"Go stag." Chihiro suggested, "It's more fun that way anyway."

"It's lame if you go stag by yourself, you have to go as a group."

Chihiro formulated a plan, later that night she was watching movies with Haku, "Haku, what if you and I go stag with Mai and Tai to formal?" she asked.

"Stag?"

"Where we go as a group instead of as couples." she told him.

"We could do that." he said and smiled, "But I get all the slow dances with you."

"Deal" she said and settled back to watch the movie.

The tickets were bought, the dresses chosen, and the tuxs were rented.

"We are a hot group." Mai said when she saw them all.

Chihiro was wearing a stripped tutu party dress, which had a green and white bodice, a white skirt, and a pink belt and a white corsage, her purple hair tie holding an updo together. Haku was wearing a white shirt with a vest that matched his eyes and a jacket and tuxedo pants. Mai had on a blue mermaid style dress and Tai was wearing the same as Haku, only his vest was blue.

"I'd date us" Chihiro agreed with her.

"I'd marry us" Mai said with a laugh.

The group linked arms and walked into the dance.

Halfway through, the couples songs came on. Haku danced with Chihiro for most of them, until Chihiro noticed Mai looking around sadly. She suggested that Haku dance with Mai. Haku nodded and asked her to dance with him.

"You don't have to." Mai said shaking her head.

"I want to." Haku told her and pulled her to the dance floor.

Tai walked up to Chihiro, "You wanna dance?"

"Sure." she said with a smile.

The rest of the night was relatively fun, until it was time to go home. When they climbed into Chihiro's mom's car, the girls and Tai sat together in the back.

"Thanks for telling Haku to dance with me." Mai whispered to Chihiro.

"No problem." she said with a smile as she looked at Haku through the rear view mirror. He turned around and made a face at her, which caused both girls to erupt into laughter. When they got to the twins' house, Haku and Chihiro walked their friends to the door. Mai hung back and turned to Chihiro.

"I still like him Chi." Mai confessed.

Chihiro felt her eyes go wide, "Oh...um..." she didn't know what to say or do.

"I mean, if you two are still like, an item, I won't come in between you." Mai said quickly.

"No, I mean, we aren't dating..." Chihiro told her.

Chihiro's mom honked the horn lightly so they had to make their way back to the car. Both kids sat in the back and Chihiro leaned on Haku's shoulder, "She likes you." she blurted.

"Mai?" Haku said looking surprised.

"Yah, Mai. If you want to date her, you can, you know. We aren't even dating." she wished she could get her mouth to stop talking.

"I'll take that into consideration Chihiro." he told her with a grin.

A week later, it was official. Haku had asked Mai to go to a movie with him, without Chihiro. Everyone at school knew it, and Chihiro felt as if she was bombarded with questions.

"How does it feel knowing your guy is dating Mai?" Jessica asked her a week after that.

"How am I supposed to feel? I'm happy for them." she said, slightly annoyed.

It was lunch and Mai and Haku were sitting together, Chihiro was on his other side, but she might as well have been invisible to the happy couple. She sighed and could have kicked herself at that very moment.


	8. Please Don't Leave

"You hanging out with Mai again?" Chihiro asked as Haku ran downstairs.

"Huh? Yah, since I had to cancel our date tomorrow." he answered her and ran out the door.

Chihiro sighed, ever since she told Haku to date Mai, she regretted her decision. She slumped back and started whatever DVD was in the player. She noticed it was a sequel to one of her favorite movies. She found herself crying during a song.

"It's the wrong kind of magic, now you see him, now you don't.

Used to be, he'd dropped anything for me.

And now lately he won't.

He used to slay dragons to keep me from harm

and come running to my open arms.

I want the magic of love again.

The look of longing in his eyes.

All the wonder and surprise of knowing that the best is yet to come."

Chihiro saw herself back when Haku first got there. The way he looked at her, the way he held her hand all the time. The way he was always with her. Now she was lucky if he acknowledged her when they walked home, since Mai was always with them. She clung to Haku like a lost puppy, which made Chihiro angry, most of the time she wanted to strangle the girl but she didn't want to come off as jealous.

"He was never mine." Chihiro whispered to herself.

The words hurt, especially since Haku came to the human world to be with her, yet he never asked her to be his. No, he wanted them to grow up a bit, then he chose Mai. Jezebel glared at the T.V and turned if off, then buried her head in the pillow she was laying on.

"I forgot my- Chihiro? What's wrong?" Haku asked, Chihiro didn't hear him go back in.

"Nothing" she said angrily.

"No nothing, tell me. Come on, roll over!" he said trying to turn her, she obliged, but she pulled the pillow with her so it would cover her face.

Haku tugged on the pillow, then decided to tickle Chihiro until she let it go. She was giggling and he flipped the pillow onto the floor and looked at her. Her laugh died and she felt the tears spring in her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Haku asked in a concerned voice.

"Nothing!" she told him and tried to get up so he let her.

She walked to her room and he followed her.

"Why are you upset?" he kept asking.

"No reason! Don't you have a date to get to?" she snapped.

"Yah." he said and looked at the clock.

"Don't be late, I'll be fine." she told him and stood up.

She opened her arms and he hugged her tightly.

"See you later." he said and kissed her cheek then left the house.

Chihiro sighed and walked back to the living room to slump back down on the couch. Her mother walked in, "Oh, I heard Haku leave, I thought you were going with him."

"He's going on a date mom." Chihiro said in a sad voice, she couldn't help it.

"Why do you sound so upset?"

The dam broke, Chihiro started crying and clung to her mom.

"What is wrong Chihiro?" her mom kept asking.

"Mommy, it just hurts ok."

"What? Haku going on a date?"

"With her! He could have had anyone else but he picked her! I hate her! Her and her brother!" Chihiro threw the pillows around the room.

"Do you really hate her, or do you hate that he's dating her?"

"Both!" she said and frowned.

Haku had come into the house again with Mai, he wanted to hang out with Chihiro too, since she seemed upset. He heard the conversation and cleared his throat. Chihiro turned and looked, with wide eyes, from him to Mai. He looked upset, and Mai looked like she was ready to cry.

Chihiro stood up and walked to her room. She slammed the door and threw herself on her bed, she buried her head in her pillow and started to cry. After a few minutes, she heard a knock on her door.

"Go away!" she called, her voice thick with tears.

"Chihiro, it's me." Haku's voice called through the door causing Chihiro's heart to hurt.

"Even worse!" she yelled.

"Chihiro please."

She didn't answer and she heard him sigh and then nothing. For a long time she didn't hear anything, so she got curious. She opened the door and saw that he was sitting on the floor by her doorway. He looked over at her and she visibly winced at his expression. It held nothing of the old look he used to give her. She felt as if her chest was ripping in half and it was getting harder for her to breathe. She started gasping and the room spun. The floor was suddenly moving towards her at an impossible speed and she closed her eyes. Expecting to hit the floor and feel pain, she was surprised when she felt arms around her. She was lifted up and the arms were replaced by her bed. A small whimper escaped her lips and she reached for whoever it was that had her. He lowered his torso towards her so she could lock her arms around his neck. Then he moved her a bit so he could climb into her bed with her.

She buried her face into his chest and cried again. She could feel a hand stroking her hair and she could hear his voice murmuring to her, incoherent things, but they made her feel better. She finally stopped crying and looked up at him. The ripping pain was back when she saw that the look was still completely absent in his eyes. She winced again.

"Chihiro what's hurting you?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"My chest." she whispered.

She had her eyes closed, she couldn't stand looking at him, seeing the absence of love for her in his eyes.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"I miss you."

"I'm right here."

"No, I missed _you._" she opened her eyes, which were full of tears, "I miss you walking me to class, I miss you chasing me around the track during gym, I miss you throwing food at me during lunch and walking home with me. I miss the way you used to hold my hand, even if we were just sitting in the car, and the way you used to look at me, like I was the only person in the universe." her voice broke and she started crying yet again.

Haku wiped her tears, "You told me to be with Mai." he reminded her.

"I know, and it was the stupidest mistake of my life. I didn't want you to feel obligated to be with me, just because you came back. I mean, I know hearts change, even though mine hasn't...I figured yours had."

He looked, almost angry, which caused Chihiro to cringe.

"Where is Mai anyway?" she had to ask.

"She went home, she was kind of upset with you."

His voice wasn't cold, or hard, or even angry. It was gentle, which made it hurt more. She sighed, she was being stupid, and jealous.

"I'm sorry." she said.

Haku shook his head, I'll talk to her later, she'll be fine." he told her.

"Go on your date Haku."

"Nah, I don't think either of us is up to it right now."

Chihiro winced again, "You aren't making me feel better." she muttered.

He didn't say anything, but he did try to untangle himself from her, which caused her to whine. He laughed and shook his head, "You're such a baby Chihiro."

She frowned and clung to him more, "Can I have just one weekend with you Haku?" she asked in a desperate voice, "Just one weekend where I have my best friend back, and he's not followed by his shadow." she frowned, "We haven't had time to ourselves since you two started dating."

Haku frowned, he hadn't thought about about that. What his relationship with Mai was doing with his relationship with Chihiro.

"Alright, lets go watch movies." he said then lifted her up and carried her down to the living room.

He settled down on the couch with her still in his arms and took the remote for the TV and DVD player. He hit play and the movie that Chihiro was watching earlier started again. Chihiro winced when the song played.

"Give me a magic wand to wave, tell me the magic words to say to bring back the magic of love."

"Can we watch something else?" she asked him.

He let her go so she could go pick another movie. She put on a horror movie, which caused Haku to raise a brow, "You hate horror." he told her, "You get nightmares."

Chihiro just shrugged and settled back so she was leaning into him. He sighed and put his arm around her. The movie began, and about ten minutes in, they showed the corpse of someone who was scared to death. Chihiro gasped and turned her face to hide it in Haku's chest. He laughed and just held her tighter. The pair finished the movie and she started another one, this one wasn't a horror movie, it was a comedy. They got halfway through a fifth movie when they both drifted off to sleep.

_Chihiro was running down the halls at school she was frantically looking for Haku. Yubaba was chasing her, trying to get her to clean the big tub. The crone was spitting fire and looked menacing. She ran into her homeroom and there stood Mai. She was grinning wickedly at the scared girl. _

"_He's mine. He may have come back for you, but he is all mine now." Mai was saying in a cruel voice. _

_Haku walked in, he looked passed Chihiro and walked over to Mai, the two embraced and were soon locked in a passionate embrace. Their hands ran over each others bodies, even touching private places. Chihiro felt her eyes grow wide and her chest felt like it was being split in two. _

"_Haku..." _

_He broke away from Mai and looked at Chihiro, he gave her a look of disgust, "I'm leaving Chihiro, I'm going to the Spirit World and I'm taking Mai with me." he said. _

_Chihiro shook her head, "No, please." _

"_You're too jealous, we will never be happy." Haku told her in a cruel voice. _

"_No, I won't be jealous anymore, just stay here. Please." she kept saying. _

"No, I won't be jealous anymore, stay here...Haku stay here. I won't be jealous, Haku...please don't leave me. Please. I won't be jealous. Please. Don't leave, I love you..." Chihiro was saying in her sleep.

Haku woke up when he heard her talking. His eyes went wide when he heard the last part. He gently shook her too wake up.

"No." she was mumbling, tears rolling down her eyes.

_Haku was walking away, Chihiro felt herself shaking, as if she would shatter at any moment. She cried and tried to follow him, only to stumble and fall. _

"Haku, please don't leave me." she kept saying over and over.

"Chihiro wake up, you're dreaming." he said and shook her a bit more.

He was relieved when she opened her eyes, "Haku..." she whispered then throw herself on him and clung to him like a child.

"Don't leave Haku, please don't ever leave. Even if you are with Mai, just don't leave." she cried. 

"I won't leave Chihiro, you're fine. I'm right here. I'm never leaving you." he assured her and held her tightly.


	9. Five years later

**This part of the story is set 5 years after Haku got to the Human World. So they are 18 now. Enjoy. **

She stood in her long, white, beautiful dress. After months of planning, the day was finally upon them. Her dress was simple but elegant. It was long and hugged her body perfectly. The only detail was the beading that formed intricate shapes along her sides giving the illusion of an hour glass. Her hair was pulled in an elegant updo and her makeup with very simple. Foundation, blush, eyeliner. On her feet were white ballet slippers. The music morphed and it was her cue. She stood at the double doors that led to the main church where her wedding was to be held. They opened and she saw Haku waiting for her. Her throat had a lump the size of a fist in it when she saw the emotion in his eyes. Smiling, Mai walked down the aisle to meet her future husband.

Chihiro lay on her bed. She was supposed to be there. She was supposed to be his best woman. He had asked her to do it when they announced their engagement. She swallowed against the lump in her throat and nodded. She had to excuse herself or she would start crying all over again. All she did was cry since he chose Mai, again. They tried to make it work between them, tried hard, but nothing seemed to bring back that spark that they used to have. Finally Chihiro gave in. Haku wasn't going to break up with her, so she ended it her junior year. She told him to be happy, so he went back to Mai. Chihiro was broken up about it, a part of her wanted to be sadistic. To tell him that she didn't want him in her world anymore. She knew that all she had to do was say the word and he would have to go back to the Spirit World, but she couldn't do it. She wouldn't have been able to bear being away from her best friend.

She dropped out of the wedding that morning. She claimed she had the flu. In reality she couldn't face seen the finality of him getting married. She couldn't stand seeing it. Glancing at her closet door she saw the dress that had been picked out. It was a green mermaid dress. She got choked up when she saw it and ripped it off the hanger. She opened her door and threw the thing out into the hall. She glanced at the clock and saw that the wedding should have started already. Her chest was hurting and, without thinking, she went out to the hall and got the dress. Putting it on, she recalled when they got it. Haku had gone with them and Mai was picking out the dresses. She tossed that particular one to Chihiro, who put it on quietly. When she stepped out, she saw Haku's eyes go wide. The dress hugged all her curves perfectly. Mai didn't seem to notice his reaction, so she told Chihiro to get it.

She barely made it to the church on time, but she didn't go inside. She sat in her car and let the tears fall. She knew that the decision that she was about to make might ruin everything. She might lose them both forever, but she had to try. She got out of her car and stood outside of the double doors.

"If anyone has any reason why these two should not wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." The minister was saying.

Chihiro peaked through the little window and saw Mai turn around and glare teasingly at the guests. Bracing herself she pushed opened the doors.


	10. You cause me Pain

Chihiro pushed open the door and inhaled when all the church turned to look at her.

"Chihiro?" Haku's voice pierced through the room.

She noted that he looked happy that she was there. She felt the tears well in her eyes, knowing that that happiness would be shattered.

"I object." she whispered.

She heard a murmur pass through the crowd.

"What was that?" the minister asked.

"I object." she said louder, not looking at anyone.

Her knees were shaking, she didn't dare look up until...

"Chihiro?" he sounded angry.

She glanced up and a sob ripped through her throat, he looked furious. The room was shaking. It started pitching and rolling and spinning. She couldn't control it. The floor made contact with her body and she wondered briefly why she was staring up at the ceiling. Blackness claimed her.

_She was a child again, only ten, running between the booths looking for her parents. Where were they? She had seen pigs in her parents' clothing, but that wasn't possible. Right? _

"Ugh." her head hurt.

_She was flying on his back, peace overcame her. She knew what she had to do, she knew she could do it. She had her friends now. _

Her body hurt.

_His scales were shattering, they were falling slowly. She had just told him his name. He reached for her hand and pulled his face towards hers. _

She could feel the fabric of a jacket against her cheek.

_She remembered who he was. Thirteen now, she was in California for her birthday. She couldn't believe that he was there! _

She knew that she was being carried.

_He kissed her lightly. It was her first, on her birthday. It was perfect. _

She felt a breath on her cheek. She heard a sigh and knew who it was.

"Haku?"

Silence.

"Haku I -"

"Don't talk to me." he snapped and she winced.

"I'm -"

"I said don't talk."

"But."

"Chihiro..."

Her heart constricted she never heard him that mad before.

"Sorry." she whispered.

"You're sorry?" his voice dripped with sarcasm, "That makes everything better."

She hated this, she hated the harshness of his words.

"Stop it." she told him.

"Stop what? Stop being mad at you for ruining my wedding?" he stopped but wouldn't look at her, "Mai ran out of the church crying."

"Put me down." she told him.

He set her down on her feet gently. She took two steps before the ground rushed up to meet her. He caught her before she it the ground. 

"You are too shaky to walk."

"Why'd you pick me up then? Why not go after her."

No answer.

"Haku?"

"What do you want me to say Chihiro? Did you expect me to come running to you because you stopped my wedding?"

She didn't answer for a long time, "Take me home." she finally said.

When he got her home and put her down. She walked towards her room. She emerged a second later with her iPod Touch. She searched for a song.

"A song won't fix this." he told her.

She ignored him until she found it. She plugged her speakers in and just held him so he could hear it.

"I see nothing in your eyes, and the more I see the less I like.

Is it over yet, in my head?

I know nothing of your kind, and I won't reveal your evil mind.

Is it over yet? I can't win.

So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left.

I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.

I'm going all the way, get away, please.

You take the breath right out of me.

You left a hole where my heart should be.

You got to fight just to make it through,

'cause I will be the death of you.

This will be all over soon.

Pour salt into the open wound.

Is it over yet? Let me in.

So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left.

I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.

I'm going all the way, get away, please.

You take the breath right out of me.

You left a hole where my heart should be.

You got to fight just to make it through,

'cause I will be the death of you.

I'm waiting, I'm praying, realize, start hating.

You take the breath right out of me.

You left a hole where my heart should be.

You got to fight just to make it through,

'cause I will be the death of you."

"That's been your song since you got with her." she told him, her voice shaking. "I can't explain it better than that. You take my breath away, and you left me void of a heart. Your song used to be Thousand Years." she told him.

He looked at her, as if she had slapped him, "I-"

"No, it's my turn." she closed her eyes, "I've been in love with you since I was ten. Eight years of my life I spent loving you. Now I feel as if I wasted eight years on you. You were the center of my world, and you claimed that I was the center of yours. Soul mates remember? I guess you either lied, or you were confused."

"I didn't lie."

"Then you got confused, how else can you explain marrying someone else but me?" she knew she sounded spoiled and full of her self, "Do you love me?"

"Chihiro."

"Do you love me?"

"Chihiro I..." he trailed off.

"It's simple Haku, do you love me or not?"

He turned around and started to walk away.

"If you don't love me then you can just go back to the Spirit World right now."

He stopped, "Think of what you're saying."

"I am. You came here for me. You gave up your immortality for me. Not Mai. Me. So if you don't want to be with me, you can go back to the Spirit World."

"What about..."

"Mai? What about her Haku? I already ruined her wedding, I'm sure she hates me now. Why not do this too."

"You are selfish."

"It's about time I am." she pulled a picture out of a drawer. "Remember this."

He looked at it, "Yah, it's me and you in California laughing on the ground. Why?"

"Look at your expression."

"What about it."

"Look at how you were looking at me."

"Chihiro, I don't even remember what was going through my head that day. I barely remember what happened before that picture was taken."

"We were outside of the Tower of Terror, you said it reminded you of falling. At the bathhouse when you were hurt. I called you silly, and you chased me around and tickled me then-"

"You pushed me off of you but I fell and you fell on me."

"We laughed for a bit, then you just stopped. I looked at you, and you were looking at me like I was the only one there. Like no one was watching. Like I was the only person that mattered." her breath caught.

"What does that have to do with you sending me back?"

"Because." she was letting the tears flow, yet again, "Why stay here, if you don't want the person you came here for?" she asked him, "You, here, causes me pain. I used to be happy to have you around. Used to. Now I dread seeing you. I know that the hole in my chest is going to open up again, and I'm going to be in pain. I love you Haku, but loving you hurts, especially knowing that you don't feel the same."

"I never said-"

"You didn't have to...you hesitated long enough. Just go back Haku. I don't want you here anymore."


	11. I don't love you

"No."

"Go back. Now."

"No."

"Dammit Haku just leave me alone then!" she turned around and ran towards her room and slammed the door.

She heard the knocking. "Go away."

"Chihiro please."

"No Haku, just leave me alone."

Sighing he walked away, she heard the door close and she felt the tears start all over again.

(One year later)

Chihiro went away to college. She decided to return to California, the last place she was truly happy. Her parents weren't too happy, but they respected her daughter's decision. Haku ended up returning to the Spirit World, he went to see her one last time before returning.

"Chihiro, please tell me you reconsidered."

"No Haku. I'll always love you, but just thinking of you hurts me." she had told him.

It had been six months after she stopped his wedding. Mai had moved on, she took off to college also.

Upon returning to the Spirit World. Haku had seen how stupid he had been. His body wanted Mai, he let himself get clouded by it. Mai was essentially perfect. She was beautiful, smart, talented, everything that a man would want. Haku sighed every time he thought about it, his stupidity made him cringe. He had hurt Chihiro horribly, he wondered why she didn't send him back sooner. Actually, he knew why, she wanted a chance. She wanted to see if there was any way to get him back, but he blew that too.

"You're still not beating yourself over that are you?" Zeniba asked him when she saw him cringe again, "Haku it's been over a year, you messed up, you might not get a chance to try again."

"I am aware of this Zeniba. I lost the only person that mattered to me." he sighed.

"Well what's done is done."

"How can you be so heartless?" he snapped.

"Because Kohaku, this was your fault. You allowed your hormones to cloud your mind. You thought with that." he said pointing down on his body.

He frowned, knowing she was right. Sighing he walked outside. He was going to try yet again to convince Them to let him return. They had said it was up to Chihiro, when she truly wanted him back, he could return.

"_No Kohaku." the voice said as soon as he was in his dragon shape. _

_Please._

"_No!" _

It was final, he knew better than to ask again, or even argue. With a sigh he just flew around. He circled the bathhouse, he couldn't be down there. She was everywhere. Her presence still lingered in every nook and cranny. He had visited once, and kept expecting her to round the corner. It was impossible for him to go back to any life he had before, as if the past six years hadn't happened.

Chihiro was glaring at her computer. She had a paper to write for her Creative Writing class. A story actually. The only one that popped into her head was hers. She sighed and gave up trying to find another topic. She just started typing. Hours later, her hands cramped up and she was shocked to see that she had typed about fifty pages. She reread her work, cringing every time his name came up. She saved the file and closed her laptop. Curling up on her bed, she thought about him, as she always did at night. Soon she drifted off to sleep.

_She was floating. It was dark but there was a bright light in the distance. She didn't know how she knew to lean forward and will herself to move, but she did. She floated towards the light wondering where it led. A part of her already knew. She was above a building. A memory floated up to her. _

"_The bathhouse." her words took shape. _

_Pink bubbles floated around her with every sound she made. She saw something else in the distance, moving towards her. It was a long shape moving without a pattern against the blue sky. She knew how his scales would glisten, how the wind would catch the green fur that flowed down his back. As she watched, the tears fell slowly. She willed herself to fly towards him, to meet him. _

"_Haku!" she called out to him. _

_He kept flying. He flew right through her and a shudder passed through them both. _

He could feel her, but how? He looked around where he had passed and thought he saw a change in the way the air moved. Making his way back, he sniffed and caught her familiar scent.

"_Chihiro?" she heard the thought in her mind. _

_He wasn't looking at her. He was looking around her. She reached her hand out and placed it on his snout. He jerked violently then blinked at her. _

"_What are you doing here?" _

"_I don't know. I fell asleep." she told him, "Am I dreaming?" _

"_If you are, then I am too." he said and leaned in to nuzzle her, but stopped an inch away. _

"_Why'd you stop?" she asked. _

"_I don't want you to hurt, later." _

"_It'll hurt more if you don't." she admitted. _

_He leaned towards her and placed his snout on her nose. She smiled and kissed his fur softly. _

"_I've missed you." she admitted. _

"_And I've missed you." he told her. "Chihiro I'm so sorry. I, I let my hormones take over." _

_She flinched. _

"_What did I say?" he asked her. _

"_Nothing, nevermind." _

"_Tell me." _

"_It's just...she's pretty." _

_He nodded, "She's very pretty." _

"_And smart." _

"_Straight A's in school."_

"_And talented."_

"_She could sing, act, dance, play the flute, play sports, "_

"_She's perfect." and I'm not. The words hung unspoken but he picked up on them. _

"_You're perfect." _

"_Not perfect enough apparently." _

"_Chihiro, I-" _

"_It's fine." she cut him off. _

"_Stop doing that." _

_He changed out of his dragon form. "Do you want me there?" he asked her suddenly. "In the human world." _

"_Yes." she didn't hesitate, "I really want you back here." she told him, "I miss you." _

She was jolted awake. Looking around she realized that she was back in her dorm.

"What?" she said out loud. "Was that all I get? A few minutes?" she could have kicked her self.

She hadn't seen him for a year and that was how she acted. Hearing a knock on the door, she composed herself and went to answer it. There he was, standing in her doorway, her heart stopped.

"Haku!" she threw her arms around him.

He was taken by surprised, but he put his arms around her. His lips met hers. He couldn't help himself. She was taken by surprised but she didn't pull away. When their kiss ended she lay her head on his chest.

"How long are you back for?"

"It's up to you." he told her. "For right now, they've given me twenty four hours, unless you want me to stay longer."

She just nodded.

"Let me explain." he told her, "No interrupting." he led her to her bed and sat down. She sat next to him.

"When they turned me into a human, they left nothing out. I was a teenage boy, I was just looking at her looks." he saw her cringe, "You are beautiful too, don't get me wrong, but she's..."

"Would you like a bucket for that drool?" she asked him sarcastically.

"When you stopped the wedding, I realized that I was making a big mistake." he confessed, "After you passed out, she told me to leave you there, saying that the wedding could still go on." he frowned, "She was just going to leave you lying on the floor, no she wanted an usher to take you into another room." he shook his head, "when I took a step towards you, she hissed, 'if you go to her Haku, it's over.' the wedding, it was a last resort for us. She always accused me of being in love with you. Being stupid, I denied it, saying we had a lot of history. As soon as she said those words, I knew she wasn't the one I wanted. She shrieked when I picked you up and carried you out of the church."

He sighed, "When you asked if I loved you, and I hesitated..." he scowled, "I couldn't answer, because I don't love you."

**A/N: DON'T HIT ME! **

**It'll be revealed in the next chapter. **


	12. Forever?

Chihiro felt her body stiffen up. Darkness was on the edge of her vision. Why did he make her pass out like this. She felt her shoulders get shaken.

"Chihiro relax." he said, shaking her harder still.

An odd noise filled the room. Like a cat being injured. What was making that noise? With a jolt she realized it was her, she was, almost screaming from the pain that was wracking her chest. She felt a sharp sting on her cheek, Haku was looking at her concerned.

"Get away from me." she told him and pulled away.

"Wait."

She opened the door and looked at him, "Get out."

"Chihiro let me-"

"Now! Or I'm calling security!"

He stood up and walked out, looking so dejected, that Chihiro was about to change her mind.

"Let me explain please." he said when he was out the door.

"No."

"Chihiro, if I can't explain this too you by this time tomorrow, it'll be too late. They won't give you another dream like that, it'll be over. We will never see each other again, is that what you want?"

"What's the point if you don't love me? Have I been just an annoyance to you all these years Haku? A human that you play around with?"

"Let me come back in." he pleaded.

She sighed and moved out of the way. He hesitated but walked back into her room. She shut the door behind him.

"You have one minute."

"Love is...limited. Common. I loved Mai, you love your parents. It doesn't express my feelings for you." he sighed, "this is going to take longer than a minute."

She narrowed her eyes at him and glanced at the clock.

"Before I met you, my life had meaning, it had a reason. I had a reason. I was happy with my situation, I wasn't missing anything. After I saved you, you were in the front of my mind, but I wasn't obsessed with finding you, I still had a different reason for existing. But after you left, when you were ten, suddenly, you were my reason. It hurt to be away from you, even for a second."

"But you picked Mai."

"But I still had you there. Mai would have satisfied what my body wanted, actually any female could have done that, but my soul, my very essence. Everything that made up me, was just satisfied having you in the same dimension. When you told me to leave, when I left, it was like ripping my soul in half. This past year, I've been empty."

"That doesn't explain why you don't love me."

"Doesn't it? Chihiro I don't just love you, I don't just want you, I need you. Every cell in my body was in agony without you, since the moment that you told me to leave. Even just a minute ago when you said to get out, my body was hurting. You said being with me causes you pain, being without you causes me even more. I've been in agony without you."

She noted the tears in his eyes, she had never seen a man cry before, it hurt her. Especially knowing that she had caused it.

"Are you in pain now?" she whispered.

"It's manageable." he told her, it was true, having her in the same room as him subdued it a bit. A five out of ten.

"Let me fix it then." she walked into his arms.

She watched his face relax, not realizing how tense he was since she ordered him out. He was a good actor.

"How about now?" she asked.

"It's almost gone."

"What'll make it leave all the way?" she whispered.

She searched his face, waiting for him to say something stupid, like a kiss or sex would fix it.

"Say I can stay."

"You can stay."

"Say you will be with me."

She frowned, here it comes, "I'll be with you."

"Forever?"

"Are you proposing?" she teased.

"Yes."


	13. Yes

"Haku, be serious."

"I am serious."

Her body locked up again, was this really happening? He moved out of arms reach and knelt down.

"Better?" he asked.

Her breath stopped. He took her hand.

"Chihiro Ogino, I don't have an elaborate speech planned out about how I will love you forever, because I don't intend on loving you for such a small amount of time. There is no, 'Till death do us part.' not even death can take away my love for you. I have a lot of plans, I want a family, a career, and my best friend by my side. Say you'll have me."

"Will it make the pain go away?"

He sighed and stood up. She felt stupid, it was the first thought that popped into her head, "Wait. I'm messing this up."

She drew in a long breath and held it, "Haku, when I said you could be with Mai, I lied. I didn't want you to feel obligated to be with me and only me. Let me finish," he had opened his mouth to say something, "It was a huge mistake, but when you were about to marry her, it was agony. Even though I was there, smiling, I wanted to scream, to shake you, to run...I'm really messing this up..."

She looked away from him, his face was twisted in confusion. Suddenly she felt his lips on hers, it was...indescribable, even though he had kissed her before, it was just them meeting again after a year. This, this was like...like she was in agony the entire time without knowing it. Like she had gotten numb to the pain of not having him. She didn't know it was there until it was gone. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his lips traveled from hers to her throat. She shivered, he had never done that before.

"Yes." she whispered.

"Really? You aren't just saying that to make the pain go away?"

"I am, but it's not your pain, it's mine."

She found his lips again and clung to him tighter than ever. As if she didn't want to let go, as if she would fight to stay with him, by his side.

"When?"

"Now."

"Now? What about your parents?"

"I don't want to wait, you are human after all." she teased.

"I can assure you Miss Ogino, that won't be a problem. After spending that much time in agony, everything in me refuses to do anything that'll bring it back."

"I think you just quoted Twilight..."

"What?"

"Nevermind. So now what?"

"Now, I can give into my body, throw you on the bed and we can have our way with each other," she blushed, "Or, we can go to dinner."

She considered her options, "I'm liking the sound of the first, but we should go with the second."

He laughed and took her hand, "Where to Future Mrs. Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi?"

She blushed again at her future name.

Later that night, after dinner, they caught a movie, then went back to her dorm. Her roomates were already there.

"Um, this is Haku." she said in a small voice to them, how could she explain him?

"The ex?"

"They were never ex's Ali, they never got together, he's the best friend."

"The one that dated the other girl?"

"You told them about me?" Haku asked with a grin.

"No." Chihiro said frowning.

"You left your laptop on, Marissa needed it for something and you wouldn't answer your phone so she could get permission. We read the story."

"Oh."

"Story?" Haku was intrigued.

"It's our story, but with some fantasy aspects."

"Such as?"

"You turn into a dragon and are controlled by a witch that runs a bathhouse." she said and giggled at his wink. Only they would ever know that her story wasn't a work of fiction.

"Was I a nice looking dragon?" he asked.

"Beautiful." she told him grinning, "Long, white scales, white fur on your face, whiskers, green fur down your back, brilliant green eyes."

"So, are you guys together?" Ali asked.

"We're engaged." Chihiro told her.

"WHAT?" the girls screamed, "You haven't even been together!"

"It's...complicated. We...um..."

"We were childhood sweethearts." he said quickly, "We promised to marry each other."

"So this isn't real?"

"Oh it is," Chihiro took over, "After I broke off his wedding, we were angry at each other. He wanted to try to fix things, so he went to my parents, they told him how to find me and now here he is. It's like everything else was a bad dream. We both realized that we don't want to be with anyone else but each other. So we aren't going to be." she told them.

"Can I be the maid of honor?" Ali asked.

"You both can be."

The girls squealed, causing Haku to laugh.

(six months later)

The day of the wedding was upon them. Chihiro had on a ballgown. It was fitted on top and decortated with beautiful beading that sparkled every time she moved, the skirt flared out at her waist and went down to the floor. She could barely walk in it, but it held a secret. The skirt could be ripped away to leave a short tutu like dress which was bright pink. The bodice was also able to be pulled off to reveal a pink bodice that went with the skirt. Her hair was in a complicated up do. With a pull of a pin, it would fall down in ringlets around her face. On her feet were simple flats, she would be barefoot at the reception anyway.

She walked down the aisle, slowly. The wind was still that day, and the sun was hidden behind a few fluffy white clouds. Chihiro had gotten a wedding surprise, the Twins of Life had allowed her friends from the Spirit World to go see the wedding. They looked different, Boh was an actual baby, Zeniba and Yubaba were normal sized instead of huge women, Kamaji had two arms instead of six. The soot balls had morphed together to form a little black dog, and No Face was human. She smiled when she saw him, after she rounded the corner and he became the center of her attention.

"If anyone has any objections why these two should not wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." The minister said as the ceremony progressed.

Chihiro was nervous. She knew Mai was there, the girl had come to see her the day before, asking permission to be there. It was an awkward conversation.

"So I hear you're getting married." Mai had said.

Chihiro could only nod, Haku was in the other room, at Chihiro's request, she needed to face Mai alone.

"Congrats." the female had said.

There was an awkward silence, a lot of feet shuffling, throat clearing, and gulping.

"Can I come?" Mai broke the silence.

"Wha?"

"To your wedding, we were friends in high school..."

Chihiro remembered what Haku had said about why he knew that Mai wasn't the right one for him. As if reading her thoughts, Mai spoke up again.

"I was angry...and hurt...why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Oh right. 'Mai, you can't marry Haku because I love him.' yah, that would have ended well." Chihiro answered sarcastically.

"Ok, I see your point. But I also see the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. You both move together, you steal glances in his direction, like now for instance. Even when he and I were together, he would still steal glances at you."

"Really?"

"It drove me crazy, but I didn't want to be the jealous girlfriend."

Chihiro had allowed Mai to come, now she wondered if she should have. The female was watching Haku, frowning, it made Chihiro uncomfortable as she stood looking at everyone. Finally there was no response and the wedding commenced. Chihiro was barely able to whisper, "I do." Haku said it loudly. He kissed her softly, just like their first kiss. It was hesitant and sweet. She smiled through it and kept smiling when it was over.

On the way to the reception, Chihiro sat in the limo with her new husband and her wedding party. They decided to take pictures before the sun was down, making them an hour late. When they arrived, to a giant fanfare, the food had already been served. Before the wedding dance, the girls had planned a surprise for the guests and Haku. He had no idea how Chihiro's dress was designed.

Dancing to Time of My Life, Chihiro was slow dancing with one of her bride's maids who was dressed as a boy. Before the chorus went through the second time, the girl "accidentally" pulled on the part of the bodice that came off, Haku looked at Chihiro in surprise and she winked at him. Just as the song sped up, she was spun towards him. Her partner grabbed the bottom of the skirt and pulled off the heavy thing revealing the short pink tutu dress below. Haku caught her as the song morphed into their song.

"I have died every day waiting for you,

Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more.

All along I believed I would find you.

Time has led your heart to be and I will love you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more."

After the reception, they headed to their destination, the bathhouse. Another gift. They were allowed to spend their honeymoon in the Spirit World for as long as they wished. Chihiro was excited about it. After being pampered for a bit, she and Haku retired to a house that had been set aside for them. Haku had flown them there on his dragon shape. When they landed, both became awkward.

Chihiro decided she needed another bath. She was just sitting in the hot water in the huge tub when she heard a knock on the door. Knowing it could only be Haku she called, "Come in." She hid her body self consciously in the murky water. Haku walked in and gulped when he saw her.

"Um, I got, uh, worried about you." he sputtered out.

Chihiro saw his awkwardness and couldn't help but giggle. It made her feel more confident knowing that they were both scared stiff about their wedding night.

"Why don't you join me?" she asked him.

"Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything." she told him.

He undressed slowly, giving her time to change her mind. She blushed when she saw him there nude, but moved over to let him in. As soon as he did climb in, she moved closer to him. Heat was visible on her face and she leaned over to kiss him.

It was like a spark, within a minute he was carrying her from the tub to the room and they were entwining on the bed.

It was perfect. Everything had led to that very moment. It was just her and Haku. Her nerves felt as if they were on fire. She let out small gasps as his lips roamed over her body.

When they were finished, she lay there in a haze, any doubt she had, any pain that may have lingered was gone. She was his, and he was hers, and nothing would change that.


	14. Epilogue

Chihiro closed her laptop and turned to see her husband standing behind her.

"Done?"

"Yup" she replied.

She had finished typing out the story, her story, well, what happened AFTER she left the Spirit World when she was ten. She decided to get it down for her great grandchildren to read.

She only had one daughter, but sadly the girl was not with her. Ava had been conceived and born in the Spirit World, so she had to stay there. Chihiro intrusted her to Lin, who took very good care of her. She felt bad, not being with her daughter, but she knew that if she stayed there too long, she would disappear and no amount of food could prevent it.

She had four sons after Ava. They all knew of the story, they all knew of her sister. They all visited the Spirit World with Chihiro to see their older sister. Children were more attuned to that world than adults were, so they didn't have a hard time believing it. Their children did the same.

Chihiro knew that she was getting old, and she was getting sick. She didn't tell Haku the extent of it, she knew that he couldn't do anything and would just worry too much over her.

One night, Chihiro didn't wake up. As she floated out of her body, she watched as Haku jolted awake. He tried to shake her, but her hand fell limp. Nodding, he soon joined her.

"_Haku..." _

With a jolt she realized that they were both in their young adult bodies. He took her hand and led her towards the Spirit World. They were greeted with open arms.

They spent the rest of eternity there, and things were perfect.


	15. Bonus Chapter: Walking Down The Aisle

**A/N: Hello my lovely readers. Recently I heard part two of Thousand Years. (by recently I mean I heard it on Breaking Dawn but didn't actually pay attention to it until now.) Anyway, I realized that I skirted over the part where Chihiro walks down the aisle, so I figured, this song would be perfect for their wedding song. So this is a bonus chapter for all of those who loved/love my story.**

Chihiro stood behind the closed doors with her wedding party. She was nervous and trembling. Taking deep breaths she heard the song cueing the girls to line up. They flowed through the doors in quick succession while Chihiro stayed hidden until the last second. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute. The only think that kept her rooted to the spot was the fact that it was Haku out there, Haku waiting for her. Finally she heard the song start.

The day we met  
>Frozen I held my breath<br>Right from the start  
>I knew it I found a home for my<br>Heart beats fast  
>Colors and promises<br>How to be brave  
>How can I love when I'm afraid to fall<br>But watching you stand alone  
>All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow<p>

She heard the lyrics and focused on the significance of the song. She was terrified when she first met him, but she felt safe in his presence, even without knowing who he was, or who he would be to her. She walked, with her dad holding her arm, down the aisle glancing down to avoid the gazes from the wedding guests, they would just make her nervous and she would forget the pace. Her heart kept thumping loudly in her ears, until she took a glance up to see how far she was. Her heart skipped a beat. All her focus was on him. Her dragon, her soul mate.

One step closer

Suddenly she wasn't close enough. She had to focus on slowing herself down, on not running straight up the aisle.

I have died everyday waiting for you  
>Darling don't be afraid I have loved you<br>For a thousand years  
>I'll love you for a thousand more<p>

Their past, any problems they had, they didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was him, just him.

Time stands still  
>Beauty in all she is<br>I will be brave  
>I will not let anything take away<br>What's standing in front of me  
>Every breath<br>Every hour has come to this

Haku held his breath the minute the doors open to reveal her. She could barely walk in the dress, but gods she was beautiful. His vision narrowed, her face was all he could focus on. His Chihiro walking towards him, nothing could remove her from his side. He gave a half glance to the back row and guilt tugged at his gut. Mai was present. He tried to read her expression, but it was neutral. She glanced at Haku and nodded once. She was letting him go. She understood that he was Chihiro's from the start.

Finally she reached him. Her father placed their hands together and took his seat. The minister took his place, and the wedding of Chihiro Ogino and Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi began.


End file.
